The Fellowship
by allowmetofangirl
Summary: Percy's a detective having to deal with what appears to be a mass murderer at hand but what happens as it begins to unfold that who he once thought were the killers were actually on his side. Percy must deal with inner conflict as he joins his unlikely allies not telling anyone that he has done so. What will he do when he finds the truth behind the identity of the killer...R&R
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 - Escape**

 **A.N- Just to clarify, these character do obviously not belong to me, they are currently owned by Rick Riordan but have had such a huge impact in my life that I could not help but try to create a fanficion with them. Please review as this is my first time trying quite hard to create an interesting story and feedback would help so much to this creative process, thank you so much and enjoy**

The skin was translucent, which was not uncommon among dead bodies but still was a frightening image to gaze upon. The body lay alone in a deserted alley not two feet away from a bristling street packed with cars itching to drive home for an early night and pedestrians wandering aimlessly; hoping to have gained some enjoyment from another "night on the town". The victim's face was frozen with its last expression. Fear. Its mouth was agape, yellow stained teeth moulded with darkness of the poorly lit alley. Once blue eyes, now faded towards the colour white, held a wide daunted stare and stored a hidden fear within the depths of the forgotten pupils. He was dressed smart. A silk suit lay crumpled upon his skin, wrinkles and creases riddled the entirety of the three piece, destroying the designer quality. Scarlet red liquid scarred the white shirt which was now torn vertically across the man's stomach.

An open wound stretched across his stomach disrupting the once unscaved skin. A shard of silver was still impaled in the wound, its metal glow reflected the full moon that stood proud in the sky, defying all the stars in its line of view, challenging them almost. A shadow towered over the limp man as it crouched down. A gloved hand reached to remove the blade from the body, with precision and skill rivaled only by a trained surgeon. As the hand grasped the wanted object blood spewed from the now stretched wound coating the hand with a thin layer that held a thick viscosity of rose red paint, as if someone had marred the brown leather glove with cheap lip gloss. The smell was quite distinct, reeking the air with an aroma of hopelessness and despair dampening the mood of the neglectant passerby, ignorant of the tragedy that occurred only one street away. The open wound squelched with every movement causing the gloved man to squirm and shudder with every prominent sound.

"God, I hate this part," the figure muttered, once again squirming. A thick hand awkwardly patted the figures shoulder as he inched backwards turning his nose as far away from the body as physically possible. As if the smell had personally offended his nostrils.

"Well, someone's got to do it," the second man responded, he choked as a lump of intestine plopped onto the hard tarmac, he swivelled away on the spot shuddering, "and unfortunately we picked the short straws this time."

"Doesn't make me feel any better."

"I wasn't trying to," he remarked, "Just hurry up, the faster we get this sorted the quicker we can go...be careful not to leave too big a mess you idiot we can't let the- No don't pull it too fast, here give it."

The second figure stepped forward towards the body, a dim cheap lamp, which hung aimlessly overhead, illuminated what features of the second man that were not hidden from view by a silk white hood. A pair of narrow eyes, with pupils as blue as the untamed ocean, stood out from the pale skin of the man. His broad shoulders made his chest stick slightly forward, in an almost smug and proud manner. His sharp jaw had slight stubble, with tiny hairs that fluttered in the light breeze and his spiked, dirty blond hair caught in the shine of the light, trimmed to an army style buzz cut. A small scar graced his bottom lip stretching vertically down to the right.

The scarred man gently pushed the kneeling figure to the side as he reached forward toward the open wound. The other stepped back further into the light.His wavy, black hair sat wildly upon his shoulder, stray hair lay in every direction causing his appearance to look like he had just woken up. His thick dark eyebrows were pulled close together causing a crease to form between his bright brown eyes that shone with mirth and amusement, and despite their brightness camouflaged with the blackness of the night sky. He had a round face which resulted features being wide in proportion.

Both men wore white robes with leather sashes that stored knifes that glistened in the moonlight and switch blades which sparkled under the artificial lighting. An array of hidden artillery was also stashed beneath the neverending fabric for the cloth. They wore heavy suede dark oak boots that caused a resounding thump to heard with every step either man took which would usually draw them attention but in the deserted alley there was no attention to buy.

The black haired man glanced over his shoulder nervously, clenching his fists open and closed over and over again in a repetitive rhythm, chewing on bottom lip, its tips inching downwards with each passing second.

"Quit that," the second man smirked without looking over. The standing figure scrunched up his face and narrowed his eyes at the man, forgetting his previous actions and all feeling anxiety he felt beforehand.

"I've known you for what? Eight years? And I still don't know how you do that Jason."

"And you won't know for at least another five Leo," Jason chuckled still tugging at the shard, "Oh almost got it… just one- dammit."

Jason pushed back and sat on his knees slouching as he brought his hand up to his face and rubbed his chin. The bronze leather glove scratched and scaved the thin layer of stubble growing. Blood clung to the small hairs as he pulled his hand back sharply cursing at his own ignorance.

"What? Something up?" Leo questioned, creeping toward Jason, who was still gazing at the body with annoyance. Jason snorted, "Is something up? No I usually just try to remove murder weapons from dead bodies every Friday night," he grumbled, "usually before I go the bar for drinks." He looked up at Leo, "Do you know any good bars around here anyway Flame Boy?"

"Ha, ha, ha who knew you had a sense of humor," Leo snorted rolling his eyes.

"Watch your tongue Leo, you've got to respect your elders you know."

"You're like two years older than me!" Leo cried. Stepping back he grumbled, "What were you moaning about anyway?"

Jason looked down his hood covering his whole face in a white shadow. He mumbled something incoherent into his white cloak, which was covering one shoulder, bringing his shoulders closer together and lifting his hand to scratch his ear causing it to turn blood red.

Putting his own hand to his ear and cupping it around comically Leo mockingly questioned, "I'm sorry what was that?"

Grinding his teeth Jason gritted out, "The blade's stuck." He clenched his eyes shut and turned his head away from Leo's mocking face.

Laughing Leo walked forward, "Here let-"

A siren cut the comment off. Various cars skidded to a stop at the entrance of the alley, the constant flickering of the red and blue lights shone bright, blinding the alley in a striking spectacle of light clearly outdoing the poor work of the frail light above their heads. Deep baritone voices boomed out orders; "Go left down the alley!"

"Flank them!"

"Don't let them escape!"

"Ridgewell, Braxton you two call for backup!"

Whipping their heads back, eyes wide and frightened, they stumbled backwards blinded with the multitude of voices, sounds and noise, unable to comprehend the situation so suddenly.

"Oh shi-" Leo whimpered, leaning against the wall for support. His hands automatically lunged to his sides grasping the rows of sharp, sliver knives held in pockets strapped around his stomach.

"Watch your language," Jason cut off. He grabbed Leo's wrist and pulled them back to his side, looking up and down the alley for an escape, a calculate look in his navy eyes, as he walked backwards, "dammit follow me."

"What about the blade? We can't leave it here, the police will take it for evidence." Leo gestured wildly at the body before ducking to dodge a haywire bullet that whizzed overhead.

"We can have Beckendorf hack their system, just move come on!" He yelled as he jumped towards a ladder on a fire escape just a foot away. Using his boots as friction against the wall he launched his body at full force to the rung that hung overhead. His fingers grazed the bottom of the metal rung before he fell, knees bent and hands spread on all fours. Hissing as Leo helped him up by the elbow, Jason motioned for Leo to place his foot on his hands.

"Here let me boost you," Jason spoke, voice ladened with panic as his feature scrunched up causing his scar to tear open and a thin line of blood to trickle out and drip onto his pure white outfit, marring it.

"Yeah, cause I'm shorter than you and that will totally work," Leo muttered before he placed his hands on Jason's shoulders; one foot on his outstretched palms the other bent ready to help him push himself upwards. Using the momentum of the boost Leo wrapped his hands firmly around the first rung. He pulled himself up, grunting, grim clinging to his silk cloak turning it into a murky grey in random spots around his chest and arms. Once fully up Leo released the latch for the ladder that landed on the tarmac with an audible clang. With urgency Jason clambered up the ladder ducking at passing bullets that grazed past his body.

"Come on!" Leo yelled climbing up the stairs above with haste. He grabbed two plant pots that sat idly on the window sill of one of the apartments next to the fire escape, throwing with all his might, Leo launched the stray petunias and daisies towards the police below. Confused at the falling vegetation the police scrambled and dodged, officers barking out confused orders to even more startled police.

"Watch out for those lilies cadet!"

"Sir I think those are actually roses!"

The occupants of the apartments rushed forwards towards the windows in hopes of gaining more insight in the commotion that was occurring outside their own homes at such a late time of night. Children pressed their face closer, some even attempting in opening the window, awe struck expressions gazed at the fight between the confused and agitated police and a stranger armed with their neighbors flowers, while their parents pulled them back alarmed with trepidation plastered in their eyes for their safety.

"Argh!" Jason yelped. Falling forward on the harsh steps he clutched his leg his hands now coated with more blood except this time his own. A stray bullet had been impaled in his right calf drenching it in blood as red as rubies. The wound itself was not large, only a couple of centimetres wide, and had gone all the way through. But still, it caused Jason to feel a wave of pain that made his head spin and sight begin to waver.

"Jason!" Leo cried. He sprinted down the steps taking two at a time. Tripping occasionally he gripped the rail of the fire escape tighter still throwing plants, and even an odd bush or two, at the police, who were now climbing the ladder at the bottom of the escape.

 _Dammit should have lifted that back up_ , Leo thought bitterly. He grabbed Jason's arm pulling it over his shoulder and helping him up urgently yet with a gentle touch. Jason moaned as more blood poured from the wound and his sight darkened further, stars now flashed and faded before his eyes. "C'mon," Leo muttered, "hold on Superman only two more flights, hold on for me buddy."

"I would if you'd shut up," Jason shot back as they ascended up the last flight of stairs and onto the roof. Setting Jason down against the small brick wall of the roof he dashed across to the other side. Looking down he swore. _There's no way we'd survive that fall_ , he thought as he looked at the roof of the building straight ahead, _or maybe we could…_

"Jason get up," Leo ordered as he ran back, "get ready to jump."

"What did you say!" Jason roared as Leo janked him up and pulled him forward as the two hobbled across the roof.

"Jump!" Leo yelled shoving him over the edge and watching him climb onto the roof of the other building. He glanced back at the police who were now just staggering to the top of the fire escape before jumping himself.

Heaving himself up the wall on the second roof Leo landed flatly on the roof floor inches from where Jason lay, moans producing from his limp and immobile form. This caused a spark of determination to be alight in Leo as he crawled towards Jason, pushing himself up with outstretched hands.

"Okay come on Jason, get up lazy lump, I'm not letting you die today." Leo swung one of Jason's arms around his shoulder and gripped his hand tightly in his fist as they both hobbled along the second rooftop eye scouring for another escape route.

"There," Jason panted, his breaths were becoming more wheezy with each impending second gone by, he threw his liberated hand around in the general direction of the side of the roof. "A door," Jason continued, still in agony from the worsening gunshot wound. He moved his hand down towards his thigh clutching at the dripping injury with insistence. An entrance to the roof via the stairway inside was situated at the left hand side of the apartment roof, why no one had decided to cut them off here by using the route was a mystery to Leo but he guessed that the police hadn't thought they were stupid enough to jump off the first roof to begin with.

"Stay here dude, I'll be right back." Leo mumbled to Jason as he set him down once more. "I can't exactly go anywhere!" He exclaimed to Leo watching his retreating form. Sprinting to the door, slipping on the slick floor once or twice, Leo grasped the worn metal handle and forcefully jerked the handle downwards, but with every determined shove the door would not open. Locked. _That won't stop me,_ Leo thought defiantly as he pulled the rusted, oil deprived handle down so hard that **Snap!** He glanced down at his hand. The handle to the door sat lifeless and mockingly praising Leo for his idiotic efforts.

"There's no way down it's...eh... locked," Leo called back as he ran and picked Jason up once again, hoping that he would not question why he simply did not pick the lock. Thankfully Jason was too far-gone to question it.

"There's another fire escape there and we parked the car just one block down from here." Jason's eyes drifted to the back of the building where the fire escape stood, sheltered by the small structure of the door they had attempted to open only a few minutes ago. It was a long way down, at least ten flights of stairs and with the way Jason was leaning on him, it wouldn't be easy.

"Dude are you insane! You can't climb down another ladder with an injury like that you'll probably kill yourself in the process!"

"Leo we don't have a choice, we are being chased by at least a dozen policemen and their vicious, bestial dogs!"

Leo spared a fleeting glance back. The door to the roof of the first building that they originally climbed was now agape with floods of armed police officers crawling out the open frame. As Jason had correctly stated they were armed with dogs, of which they were struggling to maintain control of, their muscles straining, veins clearly visible. The growls emitted from the beasts as they inched forward towards the ladder that was still released. As they barked their ginormous frames shook, trembling, that is what you could see of them. They blended into the night. The thick coat of black fur like a layer of camouflage aided them in their conquest for blood. Yellow beady eyes stared back, pupils dripping black dilated to consume what brightness was left. Pearly teeth shone, temporarily blinding those who had the misfortune to gaze upon the nightmarish sight. Their noses scrunched. Distinct clouds of condensed air shot through the nostrils of the German Shepherds as they used their sharpened claws to scratch at the edge if the first roof, ears perched and pointed constantly moving to any sound heard.

Leo halted in their stampede forward, he turned to Jason, a quizzical expression portrayed upon his face.

"What in God's name made you stop you fool!" Jason exclaimed trying to edge Leo forward with what little strength he still possessed while fighting a battle to stay awake, "Come on move!"

"What does bestial mean?"

"Oh, shut up you blubbering idiot, I'll tell you if we survive!"

"When don't we survive?"

"Right now if you don't move."

 **20 minutes later**

The rain heaved coating the mysterious silhouette in a second skin. Its wetness clung to his rugged almond toned trench coat as its sleek droplets cascaded downward. He spat on the ground. This place is a dump, he thought pacing the overgrown field. The ageless blades of grass, now a crispy brown, crunched under the sole of his charcoal shoes and then lay limp on the ground, finally at peace. He lazily scratched his jaw. The brittle of the stubble irritated his fingertips, causing them to blush a rosy red colour that stood out against the paleness of his palm. He squinted his eyes as he gazed upward, more droplets of rain landed on his face, sliding down, but they were ignored. It was dark. The moon, the sole source of illumination, sparkled with its round shape reflecting a beam of light towards the Earth. Stars were scattered, wearily glowing but a dim spark.

He grunted. There should be something here; he thought once more, as he continued to pace and search restlessly around the field. He tugged his coat around him with more insistence, hoping to block out the unfortunate shivers ransacking his form. No such luck. He coughed, his lungs rejecting the sharp air it was forced to breath. His icy breath regurgitated created miniature clouds of condensed air in front of his eyes. The clouds danced and fluttered in the wind almost as if tiny people were controlling them.

He brought his wrist closer to his emerald gaze; using his other palm to shield the glass for the falling droplets. The screen was smeared, particles of lone dust and dirt gather shielding the hands for the eyes of the concealed man. He used the sleeve of his dark blue shirt to wipe it away and with a sigh squinted his eyes, further, to read the illegible roman numerals. He had been here for at least an hour, with no sign of what the mysterious caller had guaranteed would be present.

 _Well what did you expect for an anonymous call at two in the morning idiot_ , he scolded himself. Shoving his hands in his right pocket he produced a lighter and a cigarette box. The lighter was a novelty gift he had received from his brother after his trip to India the previous Summer. An elephant stood on one leg a headdress was adorned on the creature's head as it struck a "tree" pose, its hands flat together and one leg raised to its knee. Engraved on the bottom of the lighter in simple silver was the man's name. _Percy_.

Flipping the trunk open a flame sparked, its amber glow was the only source of light in the abandoned field. Tipping the cigarette towards the flame it caught on fire, he brought it closer to his mouth. Inhale. _Maybe I could just leave_. Exhale. A trail of grey smoke fluttered in the air before disappearing into nothingness. He put his hand down next to his side, shifting his hand to allow the burnt ash to fall, sizzling.

A pair of headlights and silent hum of an engine disturbed the Percy from his musings. _What the hell?_ An SUV sharply swerved into the field crumpling the crops and grass, moving left to right hazardously it glided over the turfs on dirt before skidding to a stop, stalling.

He dropped to the ground. The liquidized mud below squelched as it clung to the trench coat, turing the brown a shade darker than before. Stuffing his lighter in his inside pocket, and throwing the cigarette away, he moved his hand to his waist, fingers grazing the handle of his gun, concealed from sight. Breathing hard he watched the scene from afar.

The driver's door was flung open. A commotion was heard from the inside of the car; the sound of a seatbelt being unplugged, the rusting of cloths scraping against the seat at a fast pace, the whiplash of the seat belt retracting and clanging against the door. A figure collapsed on the ground on all fours. Its form rattled with panic ladened pants and the occasional choking on the frozen air as these breaths condensed at the instant of regurgitation.

 _I should help_ , Percy considered loosening his light grip on the gun, he began to stand his intention of helping the man as the blades of grass tickled his exposed skin and mud embraced his body. The panting figure then stood up and reflecting, in the bright glow of the headlights was blood. _Oh fuc-_

Percy pounced forward, gun now out in the open clasped firmly between two steady hands, although slick with rain held with a strong grip. Muscles tense he rushed to the man, who still sat kneeling his body convulsing. The fallen man opened his before closed eyes and stumbled backwards as the chocolate brown caught sight of the alarmed man charging towards him. He fumbled around his stomach area, in hopes of reaching something to defend himself, Percy concluded, but was soon staring down the barrel of a 9MM pistol.

"Hands behind your head," Percy stated more calmly than he truly felt. His deep gravely voice echoed in the deserted field as time stood still. The light breeze had halted, the air stale and bitter, the distant cry of migrating birds had been drowned out from the pounding in both the inhabitants ears as the blood rushed to their head, making them experience nausea and lightheadedness.

"On your knees and hands behind your head," he repeated, this time pressing the cold metal right between his eyes causing his frame to slightly shudder. The man slowly inched downwards, each second moving more slower than the last.

"Whose is that?" He questioned, twitching his pistol to the man's stained clothes. The man looked down refusing to meet Percy's gaze, choosing instead to stare at the decaying vegetation; stray sticks, loose blades of grass, lost leaves that fluttered from trees around the field.

"Hey buddy," Percy said clicking his fingers in front of the kneeling man's face, "face is up here. Oi answer me!"

A sharp stab of pain emitted from the back of Percy's head, he dropped his gun that flew across the ground, skidding to a stop and becoming lodged in the mud. He bit down hard on his bottom lip causing his mouth to fill with the metallic tang of blood as he fell on his knees towards the ground; one hand reaching to cradle his wounded head as the other blindly reached behind him. His fingers grasped at cotton fabric, grabbing a fistful he janked his assailant weakly over his right shoulder flipping him.

The attacker landed on the ground, his lanky limbs sprawled out, the breath forced out of his lungs as he shoved Percy back. Percy stumbled as he regained his footing in bumpy ground. _If it was a fight they wanted, it was a fight they were going to get._

Raising his arms in a defensive pose, one slightly raised above the other, he charged towards the standing man with a right hook. Taking the man by surprise he managed to land a strong punch to his jaw, a purple bruise was already beginning to form. Spitting the blood out of his mouth, the bruised figure raised a hand to clutch at his jaw.

Chuckling the man raised his fists and spread his legs shoulder width apart, "Is this how we're going to do it?" And with that the man shot a punch towards Percy's unprotected stomach with his hand.

Percy launched his forearm forward to block the attack. The punch caused a ripple of pain to manifest and spread throughout his throbbing arm. Drawing back his heartbeat raced in his chest while his lungs surged, his rib cage rattled in protest; bones crackling against one another.

Percy raised his arm once more, now throbbing in pain, and slammed his fist into his assailant's chest in hopes of winding him. His knuckles cracked in pain as it came in contact. It was solid, almost like punching a sheet of iron. Staggering back confused Percy shook his fist to try and regain some feeling in his finger once more against the unrelenting aching.

The other man's eyes widened as if a light bulb had erupted in his head. Panting animalistically, his hands dived towards his sides as he withdrew two sleek and keen knives from their hiding place with a hiss. Crossing his arm in a 'x' shape the man clenched the knives in his palms, knuckles turning white from the lack of blood flowing. His eyebrows furrowed, sweat beating down.

"Look, I really don't want to hurt you, and I've had a rough day. So if you could just walk away and forget what you saw then this will all be over." The man pleaded. His eyes were filled with sincerity, and muscles taut. Taking this opportunity to catch his breath, Percy noted that his attacker had maintained a defencive pose for the entirety of the fight. But why?

Steeling his eyes and questions for later Percy knew that the only way he would get answers was if he apprehended the man. He spat the blood left in his mouth on the ground and cracked his neck as he weakly raised his arms once more.

"Well, I've been told that I have a stubbornness problem."

Rushing forward teeth clenched, he grabbed one of the man's wrist; gripping it so hard that the knife dropped on the ground. On instinct, the man raised his other hand. His knife grazed his cheek, blood spewed from the wound as Percy brought down his elbow on the man's arm causing him to drop the other knife. His attacker shoved him back by the shoulders; fingernail digging into his skin making an indent in his trench coat.

Percy's hand flew to his cheek, wincing as the pain inflamed tenfold and blood stuck to his hand. Staring disoriantly at the blood Percy blinked lazily and squinted his eyes, he rubbed his hand on his trousers and gritted his teeth together, ignoring the pain from the cut.

Percy raised his leg to kick his side in hopes of gaining an upper hand. Seeing this, with almost inhuman speed and reflex, the man grabbed his calf with both hands and twisted it to his left, causing Percy to lose his balance and fall face first in the mud pile that the tires of the car had dug up. He heard the man begin to move away from him and towards the other man who was still left on the ground, groaning. His footsteps squelched in the mud with every step, the geim clinging to his boots. _Not so fast._

Rolling sideways Percy stuck his leg out to trip his attacker. Caught unaware, thinking he was unconscious; the man fell next to Percy, the back of his head crunched against the ground with a resounding thump. His hands flew to the gash on his head. Cradling it with care as he groaned in pain from his injuries. Taking the opportunity of his opponent's moment of weakness Percy launched himself on top of the man and held his fist in a stationary punching motion, daring him to attempt anything.

His frame shook with deep threatening breaths. Percy's sea green eyes were wide with annoyance at the attack; the green seemed to swirl in his pupil like a raging storm on the ocean, its unrelenting attacks increasing with every movement. Despite this he felt his body becoming weak as the adrenaline left him. His fist was slowly inching downwards to his side; his grip on the man's shoulder was becoming loose as well. Leaning forward he whispered in the man's ear, pronouncing each word with a hiss and a click of the tongue, "Whose blood is that?"

The man then smirked and chuckled before wincing, not the reaction Percu had hoped for as he dug his elbow into the man's throat prompting another groan from the fallen figure. A grin quickly stretched upon the man's features, dimples deepening, as the blood coating his face dripped onto the ground, matching the now dry blood on his white silk outfit. His face was also littered with a rainbow of bruises, ranging from a pale green to a deep purple, "You're going to have one hell of a headache."

 _What?_ Another sharp pain on the back of his head, caused Percy to open his mouth in a silent scream as he dropped his fist and moved his hands to the back of his head, completely letting go of the man under him. Seeing the chance, the man crawled away, hands digging in the dirt, grass clinging to his arms. Percy could smell the blood before he felt it. Its metal stench reeked in the air as he prayed that it was from the blood of the other men and not him. Blinking hazily he fell backwards.

"Just leave him we have to go."

 _Well that could have gone better_ , Percy thought before he finally gave into the darkness completely.

 **A.N Thank you for reading once again and please review as I'd like you see how people think about the story and my style of writing.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - A trip to the morgue

 **A.N- Chapter title's quite morbid but hey so is the story. We meet three new characters in this chapter, one only very briefly, and I will just apologise in advance as one of these character is not how they are portrayed in the books but this is intentional and must happen in order for the plot to make sense. Don't forget to follow and review the story and remember that constructive criticism is welcome as I would loved to improve my writing in any way.**

A strong breeze caused Percy's overgrown hair on the back of his head to flutter and move in the wind freely. _Did I leave the window open again?_ He thought as he shifted in his slumber reaching towards his silk sheet, that were probably crumpled due to his constant shuffling he tended to participate in his sleep, but all he could feel was the rough material of his trench coat and substance between the state of a liquid and solid that coated the stretch of his front and side. _What the hell? Did I fall asleep in my clothes again?_ There was a faint chirp and flutter of wings of nearby migrating birds- _robins, possibly sparrows_ \- in the far distance as Percy slowly came back to reality. However there was still no light to be seen with his eyes closed and there was a strong aroma of manure and grass.

Eyes snapping open, Percy propelled forward his muscles groaning in protest at his every movement. He winced as his eyes came in contact with the sun and blinked rapidly as he gazed downward. Grunting he reached his other arm back to grasp the back of his head; hissing at the contact between the sensitive skin and rough fingertips and recently trimmed nails. Bringing his hand back he inspected it with rapt interest; the blood that clung to his fingertips was still wet and slick, as he guessed he had only been out for a few hours at most, bruises littered his knuckles as he gently swayed the back of his hand leisurely. The shavings looked like dried paint that had been chipped over time Percy thought as he scraped his hand against his trousers leg.

He lifted his head and took this chance to survey his surroundings in hopes to gain any more insight to his situation. A ball of raging flames in the sky swallowed any moisture in the atmosphere while beating down hard upon the fragile and recently plowed ground he lay upon. The sky was clear and overhead in the distance passing rain clouds could be seen approaching, their distinct grey colouring seemed to dim the surrounding area. A fence surrounded the area of plowed mud, it's wooden frame looked frail and worn almost like it would fall apart if a feather of a passing bird fell upon it.

Standing up Percy tried to wipe the mud that clung to his clothes off only for it to be stuck to his hands. Groaning, he searched around him for his missing gun that had slid from his grasp during the fight. As he continued to look down at the mixture of dead hay and tall grass, completely ignoring his surroundings, he heard a similar crunch of the grass as he trampled along except this time they weren't his footsteps. It couldn't be as they weren't in time with each other. Percy froze on the spot, face flushed and without any defense the only thing he could do was to slowly turn around and face the unidentified person.

" _ **Moo!"**_

A docile cow, about half the height of Percy's towering frame, stood passively as it munched lazily on a few strands of sterile grass. Its nose flared with every deep willed breath, opening so wide that it allowed Percy, though unwilling, to see the contents of the nostrils. The cow's ears flapped leisurely in the light breeze that had begun to pick up. Tail wagging in the wind, it disposed of unrelenting flies that seemed to hover around it like a second skin. Beady, round eyes seemed to stare into Percy with intensity, probably questioning why he was here and not food. Drool dripped from the beast's mouth along with blades of grass.

"Oh you must be my brother's girlfriend," Percy exclaimed feeling slightly disoriented from the blood loss. The cow's tongue flopped out of its mouth in response.

"Nah, you're way too pretty for him," he retaliated, waving his hand in the air. Going to scratch his jaw, he noticed a slight stinging feeling in his cheek. He dug his hand into his coat pocket and retrieved his lighter. He held to shiny metal elephant ornament an arms length from his cheek trying to see his injury.

His skin had a defined small graze. The skin separated in a straight line with only a small amount of blood trickling out. Gently touching the cut he grimaced, which only resulted in his injury to hurt even more. _Well, whoever did this knew what he was doing,_ Percy mulled tilting his head to the side for a better look, _it won't scar at least._

Shoving the lighter once again in his pocket he began to flex his muscles finally feeling the pain of last nights fight. With his head pounding he began to walk over to retrieve his gun and pick up the knives his attacker had dropped. After putting his gun in his holster, Percy slowly dragged one of the blades across his fingertip. A clean cut.

The knife was no ordinary kitchen knife, not even a throwing knife. It was professional. Its glossy finish caught in the glare of the disappearing sun, startling the cow behind causing it to trot away irritated. Putting the knives away he advanced toward the abandoned car, with its doors wide open, no key in sight

The smell of the leather seats clogged all other senses as Percy gazed inside the car. The overworked seat belts hung lifeless as the worn material of the belt slowly wilted away. The dashboard was spotless not a speck of dust landed upon its matte black plastic. Although the back seats were another story. Bottles, cans and rubbish littered the floor and the seats as he was suddenly overwhelmed the smell of day old sandwiches and stale beer. Resisting the urge to empty the contents of his stomach Percy quickly fumbled as he searched through the glove compartment and underneath the seats for any clues. Nothing.

Not even a drop of blood from the men. Walking to the front of the car he took out a notepad and pen from his top pocket and jotted down the registration number of the vehicle. He decided to check the database once he got back to the station, maybe there would be information on the car there.

Parking his car in the car park across the street from the station Percy lay his head against the headrest and let out a deep breath through his nose. Luckily his face had been spared in the fight, except for the minor cut on his cheek, so that wouldn't raise too many eyebrows. He turned his head to the side as he stared at his head injury. He didn't have a concussion, that he was sure of, the wound had pretty much healed spare some blood that clutched his hair tightly.

Opening the door he advanced towards the station. The station stood between an old bakery, its sign faded a dull pink and spelled out 'RICHARD AND SONS BAKERY', and an abandoned youth club, with its doors and windows boarded up with rotting wood and a for sale sign overturned and lying in a puddle on the ground. The station was a brick building, small only three floors tall, and a large blue door stood at the front of the building. Through the window you could see officers dressed in freshly pressed uniform wandering with a purpose, some held a cup of cold coffee in plain white mugs. At least four police cars sat parked in front of the building, the black and white paint job rusted and in all of the vehicles at least one of the blue or red lights didn't work. In the upper floors the curtains were drawn, shielding them from passersby.

Once inside Percy nodded politely at the officer at reception and began to make his way up the stairs. As he approached the stairs he collided with someone by the shoulder which caused him to almost lose his balance if he hadn't caught the banister of the stairs.

"Are you sure they really made you detective? I mean I thought they would have someone who could at least stand on their own two feet," a voice drawled, sarcasm dripping from their tone.

Percy turned around sharply, his mouth puckered like he had tasted something sour and glared at a pair of taunting green eyes.

"Are _**you**_ sure you want to be seen in front of the whole station attacking a senior officer, Luke?" Percy snarled his fist balling and eyes narrowing.

Luke slid a hand through his wavy blond hair making the hair seem even more messier than before. His almond shaped eyes slitted as his thick eyebrows raised in question.

"I wouldn't call that attacking, would you?" He replied smirking as his eyes darted to the officers that had stopped their morning routine to watch the scene with apprehension.

"Just get back to work, all of you," Percy called, addressing the rest as well as Luke. The effect was almost instantaneous, the noise began to pick up as the officers began answering phone calls and flipping through files.

Before walking off Luke bumped his shoulder once more muttering darkly, "Just watch your back detective."

As he approached his desk on the second floor he saw his brother leaning against his desk his back to him, arms crossed, shoulders slightly drawn back. _Oh shit he only does this when he's pissed_ , Percy moaned as he looked up at the clock above his brother's head, _8:05 so if I'm not late what is it?_

Cautiously Percy pushed the door open, grimacing at the creaking sound of the door. His brother's head snapped at the sound like an owl and glared at Percy so hard that he dropped his head and stared at his shoes like a five year old caught stealing a cookie. He scuffled his feet and asked, "So what did I do this time?"

He heard his brother sigh like a disappointed parent, "Did you even look at your phone last night?"

He hadn't, but it wasn't his fault. His phone was flat and he didn't have any time to charge it before he got a call on his landline about a tip on the investigation and rushed off to the field.

"It was flat, and I was...out," he defended himself, holding his arms up showing surrender. It wasn't a lie but yet it still felt wrong not telling his brother the truth but something in him was screaming not to tell just yet, and so for once in his life Percy kept his mouth shut.

Sighing his brother shook his head and motioned for Percy to take a seat at his desk. He reached into a drawer in his own desk and extracted a single cream file and dropped it in front of Sebastian. There was nothing special about the file, Percy brooded as his nimble fingers sorted through the file, the only distinguishing feature was the white label with bold black lettering that spelled 'UNSOLVED CASE #176'.

"Another murder last night. Some civilian saw two guys hunched over this body, called the station and soon the whole damn force was down on these guys, but these guys must have been daredevils or something cause they ended up jumping across rooftops and got away."

"You're kidding Tyson," Percy exclaimed, slamming the file shut, "This was our first shot at catching these guys and they let them get away!"

Tyson calmly approached the desk retrieving the file and returning it to its rightful place in the desk. He smirked and smacked Percy on the back of the head his metal watch pulling hair off his head.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, you ass!" Percy yelped as he gripped at the already sensitive skin feeling the wound beginning to open once more. Tyson chuckled sarcastically, scoffing at Percy before reaching into his coat and withdrawing a black piece of leather. Flicking it open he revealed a shiny golden badge that glistened in the light of the table lamp.

"Do you remember what this is? What we promise to do?" He whispered staring at the badge. Percy gazed uneasily at Tyson already feeling the guilt of being reprimanded by his older brother; his head slowly drooping towards the ground, eyes downcast and shoulders limp. He knew of course how this speech would end having heard it repeated to him many times since they both joined the force as bright-eyed bushy tailed adolescents.

" _We_ , are supposed to protect those who can not protect themselves and stop the bad guys. So, let me ask you, where were you when I was running after those two hmm? Out getting drunk, again? I'm surprised you're even still on this case."

"Well that makes two of us, " Percy forced out rising, "Now did you get any evidence from the scene?"

Sighing he replied, "Follow me, you're going to need to see Will."

Will Solace sat twiddling his thumbs staring at the face of the unmoving body below, his eyes pulled wide showing his full eyeball, veins and all. He tilted his head back still gazing with insistence at the man.

"It's really hard to win a staring contest against a dead guy," he muttered pulling back after he blinked wincing at the water that immediately rushed to console his desert dry eyes. Picking up the clipboard from his desk he read aloud the list.

"No clear signs of struggling, no bruises, shard of knife retrieved most likely hunting knife, weird tattoo on back of neck," he droned on, turning the head as he peered at the tattoo in question, "Probably chinese for soup," he chided lightly.

Pushing the head back Will sat down in his chair with a plop. His head lolled back with a creak as he adjusted his position on the cheap chair that had been here ever since Will started working here on work experience. He could vividly remember his classmates horror when he explained he was going to work with dead bodies during lunch time. _Ellen Lou would never be able to look at a beef sandwich the same way again_ , Will chuckled with a smirk ever present on his face.

A sharp cry of a bell broke his musing. Glancing sharply at his computer, an image, in black in white, of two figure popped up on his screen. The shorter of the two raised his hand and wiggled his fingers in a form of saying hello to the camera above their heads. The other shook his head as he raised a black wallet and let it fly open.

 _Detectives_ , Will mused, _must be here for soup tattoo._ He pressed the button on his desk allowing the door downstairs to unlock, he lifted up a silver scalpel as he adjusted his hair in its reflection and brushed off the remnants of blood from his lab coat; it wasn't often he got visitors.

There was a brief knock on the wooden door before it flung itself open. The two men from outside walked in glancing momentarily at the room, scrunching their noses at the smell before landing their sights on him. _Did he really smell that bad?_ Will pondered reaching his hand out to shake the room's latest occupants.

He recognised one of the two as Tyson Jackson. He had visited frequently to view the bodies and to gain his notes; Will secretly thought it was because he was the only one able to have a conversation with him without having to come up with a pitiful excuse halfway through. His brown hair was combed to the side finishing just short of his ears. He regarded Will with a soft smile, tipping his head towards him as he nudged the man next to him on the shoulder.

The man's hand flew from his pocket forewards faltering as he gazed at Will's hand. "Erm, you may want to take that off, just a thought."

Confused Will glanced down at his outstretched hand. Well, glove. Blood and other unidentifiable juices soaked the plastic covering, creating a rather bad smell. _Shit_ , Will thought before whipping the glove off with haste, blood rushing to his cheeks, _this is why you aren't a people's person_.

"Good to see you Will, how are you doing?" Tyson inquired smiling kindly.

 _Embarrassed_. "Good, I'm fine."

Nodding even though unconvinced Tyson continued gesturing to the man who was looking intently at the body currently on the table cut open down the middle, "This is my brother-"

"Fellow detective."

 _Sigh_. " _Fellow detective_ , Percy, we were wondering if we could get a look at the body they brought in this morning?"

"Oh, soup guy," Will blurted out before he could bite his tongue. _Idiot, such an idiot_. He turned around to avoid the confused looks he was on the receiving end of. "Yeah sure, just follow me."

He approached the decomposing figure as he leaned over to grab his clip board. Will reached into his top coat pocket extracting a pale blue ball-point pen, clicking it twice.

"Clean kill, uncommon for a stomach wound but not impossible, no clear struggling or attempts at escaping he died almost instantaneously," Will rumbled off as he ran a pale hand through his groomed locks, "Nothing unusual about the death and I would write it off as just as an accident if it wasn't for this."

Will lifted an arm and gestured to thick red indents circling the thin wrist, "He was bound by the wrists, tied up and," he held the hand at an angle making the fingertips clear, "there's dirt and grime stuck deep under the nails."

He dropped the hand.

"The body was moved?" Percy inquired shifting his weight to his other leg raising his eyebrow in puzzlement.

"And that's not all," Will called as he turned and walked towards the filing cabinets that lined the walls. He tapped his nails on the metal fronts. _Clang, clang, clang_. His movements froze as he gripped the silver rung janking it forward. The aroma of paper filled the room as Will filtered through the files. With a small cry he pulled out an item wrapped in a clear plastic bag. He quickly threw on a pair of gloves before unwrapping the object.

"This was especially interesting," Will began now holding a shard of silver jagged around the edges. Elegant swirls were carved effortlessly on the entirety of the blade. It would seem like a priceless heirloom if it were not for the hardened blood that clung to the shard.

"I tested for DNA," Will piped up answering the detectives' questioning gazes, "nothing but this guys right here, either the blood washed everything off or those guys were wearing gloves or something."

"Gloves?" Percy asked, "What kind, any threads or anything."

"Leather, I'm guessing here, but I couldn't find any fibres of cloth under the microscope, why?"

"I'm not allowed to disclose," Percy replied inching closer to the body and looking directly at the figure, ignoring the confused gaze his brother had on him. _Maybe I'm not the only weird one_ , Will thought as he was putting the shard back into its bag where it belonged. Percy looked up at Will his eyebrows raised.

"Any ID on the guy?"

"Noah McCormack, age 43, two kids and the chairman of the no smoking club," Will recited, the words rolling off his tongue. "Just sent that to you guys about half an hour ago cause you know, someone needs to notify the family."

"I'll do it," Tyson piped up, "So definitely intentional then?"

"Yeah but that's not the interesting part," Will answered as his filtered through the mounds to paper dictating his desk. He shuffled through them with haste; throwing unimportant files onto the floor. He lifted a pile of folders all the same cream colour as the rest except they were bound together with a piece of red string holding them tight. Throwing the pile to Tyson who caught it with ease, Will rushed to his desktop and brought up a map of the city and connected it to the projector he had sitting beside him.

"I've been reviewing these murders and I think they're all connected," Will began fumbling for a red marker in his pocket.

"We already know they're connected somehow," Percy butted in leaning back into the table as casual as someone could look next to a dead body.

"But you don't know how is the problem, so see in each case the person has a tattoo, a marking made in black, with the same design as this knife that you guys recovered from the scene!" Will yelled as he began marking x's in seemingly random places on the map.

"Hold on." This time it was Tyson who interrupted. He too was leaning against the metal table the body lay upon but instead he was reading through the page of the file Will had thrown at him. "This wasn't in any of your reports, black tattoos or whatever."

"I didn't think it was relevant until now," Will dismissed with a wave of his hand, continuing to mark the wall with the projection on it. _He'll paint over it_.

"Is there anything else you haven't been disclosing with the force or will we have to start looking for your replacement?" Percy asked now standing straight and alert, looking ready for a fight.

"Calm down Percy," Tyson remarked. He then turned to face Will, even though he had his back to him, he could feeling the question in his gaze though.

"No, but there's something you guys have been keeping from me," Will replied finishing his final x and turning on the spot, chucking the marker onto the pile of disregarded files of his desk. Leaning over, Will plucked the files from Tyson and opened them to the same page.

"You haven't told me where the murders have been happening."

"You don't need to know," Percy called looking more agitated by the minute. Pinching the bridge of his nose he exhaled deeply through his mouth. "What about the locations anyway, they don't seem to have any correlation?"

Will grinned like a child on Christmas morning; cheeks stretching, dimples deepening. "Everything," he breathed, "They're built on ley lines."

"What the hell are ley lines?"

"They're invisible lines that that have this magnetic energy pulsing through them, usually have historic structure built on them especially where two or more lines cross over, Stonehenge for example. Many believe that these lines and where they cross they have some kind of mystical energy that resonates in them which is why I think they're the key to finding the killers," Will rambled on, his hand gestures becoming more energetic with each word passing his lips.

"So what are you saying that we're dealing with?" Tyson questioned raising an eyebrow hesitantly as his eyes wandered to Percy who ignored his gaze.

"Satanic worshipers."

"Oh for fucks sake."

 **A.N- Ok, I know Tyson's manners and characteristics are not what is described in the books, but in this story he is a normal human being not a cyclops and he is critical to the plot later on as Percy did need to have a brother for the story to work. He will continue to be OOC for the rest of the story. What did you guys think about Will? I tried to make him a bit quirky and strange, and I definitely think I will include Nico in later chapters as I think Solangelo would be an interesting pairing to explore in this scenario. So what do you guys think about that?**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 _ **A.N- It has been a while eh? I had this saved on my computer for ages and I really wanted to edit it but I didn't have the time. So, I decide to just upload it as it is! So excuse it for being rather ruff, I kinda just wanted it out the way. The fourth chapter is currently under redraft as I'm trying to work out where ti end it and where to start chapter five. So please review your thoughts as they are very helpful!**_

"I told you not to flip the table."

Percy grunted in response into the silence. His head rested against the cold glass pane taking pleasure in the serenity that it brought allowing him to calm down. Eyes closing he brushed his hand through his hair getting lost in the softness of the overgrown locks. _Need to cut this soon_ , Percy pondered opening his eyes and turning to face Tyson.

The bags growing under his eyes were getting bigger and darker. They pulled his skin down showcasing the weight that this case had on him . It had been almost ten months since the first death and now they had to add one more number to that death count. Percy saw how Tyson's muscles were taut as he gripped the steering wheel with so much pressure his knuckles were turning white. How he bit his lip so hard that it tore under the weight of his teeth.

"Satanic worshipers," Percy gritted out. "How the hell did he get that job if his best answer was a shitty conspiracy theory he probably read off the internet."

"Will's good at his job, the best or he wouldn't be on this case," Tyson defended. "He's just a little bit," he broke off staring ahead as if searching at the midday sky for the answer.

"Insane, weird, in dire need of help take your pick."

"Enthusiastic."

Scoffing Percy shook his head in disbelief as he returned to face the window once more. The amber glow of the street lamps faded and exploded in burst as they passed them. It was way too early for them to be on but after all the killing people were becoming paranoid about staying out when it was too dark and this was the apparent solution to all their worries. His gaze shifted upwards as he got lost in the picturesque scene. Clouds blended into the darkening sky managing to dull the steady glow that the sun was providing. Colours of blue and white moulded into one like a painter had taken his frustration out on the view.

Pulling up to the station Percy ignored Tyson's rebuttal. He threw himself out the car and stormed up the steps, bounding up two at a time. Percy tore the door open pretending he couldn't feel the stares of the shaken officers around him. Tipping his head towards the new officer at the reception, who shot him a disapproving look at his strop, Percy continued scampering up the stairs.

" _Did you hear? They found another body linked to the murders last night."_

" _Shit, ain't that like fourteen now?"_

" _Sixteen."_

" _Dang, no more leads?"_

" _Nah nothing so far, they managed to get away with at least a dozen cars on them."_

" _How'd they get away?"_

" _They were like undercover ninjas according to Braxton. Scaling the building and shit, what I don't understand is how they're still on the case though."_

" _Who the Jacksons'?"_

" _It's 'cause their dad was head of Scotland Yard when he was alive. Now his goodie two shoes kids move to America and get all their positions and perks handed to them on a silver platter."_

" _Shut up Luke you're just jealous that Percy got promoted to detective while you're still stuck in traffic."_

Percy couldn't help the small smirk that graced his face as he slammed the door behind him and threw himself on his chair. He reached into his pocket and grasped the lighter. Clenching it in his fists seemed to calm Percy down as he took deep, controlled breaths. He could hear his brother's footsteps pounding up the stairs. He heard him greeting passing officers with a chivalrous smile and a pleasantry; usually inquiring about their day. Tyson opened the door with care making sure it shut behind him before proceeding to close the blinds to the windows looking out onto the station floor.

Lowering his head Percy let go of the lighter and moved his hand to scratch the back of his neck. Paying no attention to the sigh that rose from Tyson's throat, he picked up the pen on his desk. He began to twirl it to take his mind off the reprimanding he knew was coming.

"I don't think you should work this case anymore."

Percy's head snapped up. Dropping the pen in shock, his eyes bulged as he opened his mouth only to close when he could not form a sentence. He hadn't expected that, he knew he screwed up a couple of times, but this? They were brothers for god's sake.

Seeing his outraged expression Tyson explained. "You missed the call last night, probably out drinking for the eighth time this week. Then you came in here and started yelling at me for not catching them and then almost trashed the morgue. Shit Perce, this thing has gotten to you. You need some time off."

"I don't need time off."

He couldn't say anything else. Percy's fist clenched together underneath the table. Although they were concealed from Tyson's view he could tell by the change in his stance that Tyson already knew.

"Okay, calm down. Maybe, ask for some low level stuff then, when you're under control, come back and I'll let you on straight away."

Percy opened his mouth to retaliate but was cut off by a loud cry of outrage from outside. Exchanging a look of confusion, Percy and Tyson sprinted through the door leaving it swinging behind them. Slowing down to a brisk walk, after seeing the looks they were getting, they saw the commotion they heard from upstairs.

A rather plump man, around middle age, hunched over the front desk. He slammed his fist against the wooden desk, the sound vibrating in the air although was soon interrupted up the roars that the small man emitted.

"I'm telling you it was the pizza guy!"

The man's round face turned a darker shade of red with every syllable he spat out. His yellow teeth flashed as his growled at the officers attempting to place a hand on his shoulder. Retracting the arm the officer answered.

"And you told us this last night, a file has already been written but it's not the priority at the moment." The soft tone of the policeman's voice only seemed to enrage the man even more as he straightened his back and shook his fist in the air with vigor.

"Not the priority! Not a priority! I'll show you what a priority looks like!" The man drew his balled up fist back and shot forward aiming towards the officers face whose eyes widened in shock at being attacked. Percy surged forward, his own hand reaching out to stop the fist in midair but it was too late, he wouldn't make it.

Percy squeezed his eyes not wanting to see the blackened eye he knew the officer would sport after the first punch landed. But no sound was heard. Peeling his eyes open, Percy saw Tyson grip the hand in a tight hold immobilising it from moving. _How the hell did he move so fast?_

Tyson brought the man's arm behind his back, twisting it, as he shoved him against the front of the desk causing the man to bend over it; face smushed into the dark oak.

"Sir, do I need to inform you that you were about to assault an officer, on police property, and that could put you up for warrant for arrest?"

Tyson's collected tone had a calming effect on the whole station. Percy gazed in awe. He saw the tension in the shoulders of the people around disappear and that they seemed to stand up taller with their chests puffed out. His brother always had that effect on people; he could talk anyone from a tense situation. _The opposite of himself really_ , Percy mused, _he was usually the one to start the tense situations in the first place_.

The pinned figure seemed to realise he had no other option than to relax. He slumped against the desk and shook his head in response to Tyson's question.

"No? Good, then would you mind telling us what you were so riled up about then sir?"

Nod.

"I'm going to let you go now. You have to promise that you're going to deal with this situation with a level head or I'm afraid we're going to have to put you in a holding cell, understand?"

Another nod.

Tyson eased the pressure he had been applying to the man's back as if afraid that he might strike out once more before letting go of his grip on him completely. The man rose, straightening his back. Grimacing at the popping sound it made, he swivelled on the spot to face Tyson a scowl crawling up his face. Tyson remained impassive, the one change in his expression was the thin eyebrow he raised.

The man's face fell towards his feet as his began, "My car, bloody expensive that thing was, was stolen by the pizza boy."

Tyson's eyebrow remained raised. "The pizza boy?"

Seeming to be fueled by the disbelief coating Tyson's tone the man's head shot up. His eyebrows scrunched together and his eyes flashed red.

"Yeah the pizza boy, you got a problem with that?"

Tyson's fingertips itched towards the pair of handcuff Percy remembered he kept in his coat pocket. This guy was getting to him and Percy knew he had to step in before his level headed brother finally blew his fuse.

"I'll deal with it," he piped up and he stepped forward. Eyes homed in on him as Percy raised his hand and flattened his hair feeling nervous under scrutiny of a hundred pairs of glowing eyes.

"Are you sure Perce?" Tyson inquired.

"Yeah, you said to try and work smaller cases to get my mind off so… yeah, I'm sure."

The rounded man scoffed at being called ' _a smaller case_ ' but didn't dare speak up after his last attempt.

Turning to face him Percy spoke, "You can wait outside, I'll grab my notebook and we can get started."

The man huffed as he spun around and stormed out; tearing the down open before he slammed it shut. It was like watching a toddler throw a tantrum after not having all the attention on him. He reminded Percy of an angry gnome that his next door neighbour had brought after coming back for an antiques showroom. The furrow of its brow, which made it look like a hairy caterpillar had wriggled its way up there and nested, was almost identical the man's own unibrow. Not to mention the plumpness of their build or the mirrored height.

"Are you sure about this Percy? We could stick Braxton on this instead, he mention that he wanted to do some simple jobs last week."

"Tyson you said I need to do some-"

"I know what I said, but so soon, are you ready?" Tyson interrupted inching closer to Percy and lowering his voice so to not be overheard.

 _Was he ready?_ Percy knew that he needed Tyson in most cases to calm him down just as Tyson needed Percy to push him. It had been years since they had performed separate cases; back when they were still climbing up the ranks.

Schooling his expression Percy bobbed his head. He might not be ready but he had to learn to be.

Tyson sighed but returned the nod. He reached into his coat pocket retrieving the pair of handcuff he almost used earlier and placing them into Percy's open hand. "He seems like the wild type. With your… personality that won't mix well, if he tries to attack, or hurt someone, cuff him and call me straight away."

Percy didn't reply but did place the handcuffs into his pocket before walking away.

"Hey, eh, Jackson?" A timid voice cried out from behind. looking back Percy let a smile settle on his face as the figure approached.

"Grover, how you been?" The short man shrugged his shoulders as he scuffed his feet against the floor. Grover's hand rose to the back of his neck and tugged at his hazel locks, a habit Percy recalled him doing whenever he was nervous. The constant darting of his eyes added to his conclusion. Grover tended to work at the desk. He filed reports as he seemed to always crack under pressure ever since he was involved in an armed robbery case and a civilian got shot. She recovered. Yet not without losing a few years in a coma. She personally came in to tell Grover her thanks for saving her, but of course Grover still blamed himself.

Percy placed a hand on Grover's shoulder forcing him to look him in the face. "Something you want to tell me?"

Grover cleared his throat, pushing his shoulders back but allowed Percy to keep his hand there as a confidence boost. "That guy out there, the one you're going with, he's been coming here for years, each time with a different cause of someone to blame, always someone who doesn't like him, which I have to admit is a lot of people he's certainly not a people's person-"

"Grover you're rambling," Percy interjected. Grover seemed to calm down as he closed his eyes and took deep breaths, "The guy's a drunk. He's been coming in for months saying that someone's stolen or wrecked something of him but half the time it's nothing. He's been known to get… aggressive to the officers that have taken his case, so we've been telling him he'll have to file a report or someone will see him. But I guess that was his last straw."

"What are you telling me Underwood?"

"Just be careful alright and don't go looking for clues, I know how you are, 'cause he's probably made this up."

"I'll be careful, alright? Just see if I can see anything, and if not I'll leave," Percy reassured, smiling . Grover's face loosened and that made Percy feel a little bit better at the site; maybe he could help someone today.

Percy once again found himself driving in silence. The sound was deafening on his ears, as he eyed the man sitting next to him. It was probably not a good idea to have him in the front seat, but Percy couldn't deal with another tantrum that he would throw if Percy even suggested he sat in the back.

As he approached a set of red lights Percy reached into his coat pocket. He extracted his notebook, surveying the scratchings he scrawled from the man's interrogation.

 _ **Name- Gabe Ugliano**_

 _ **Age- 40**_

 _ **Notes**_

 _ **Ugliano believes that "pizza boy" hot wired his car and drove off after delivering his order (one large pepperoni pizza with stuffed crust).**_

 _ **Suspect was short (around 5 foot 5)**_

 _ **Wavy, black hair**_

 _ **Light brown eyes**_

 _ **Cheery grin**_

 _ **Last seen at approximately 22:00 at 4th Brookman Road**_

The honking brought Percy back to the present as he stomped on the accelerator with too much force than necessary and pocketed his notebook. He needed to start paying more attention.

"This your place?"

Grunt. Percy took that for a yes. He slipped out of the car, closed the door and approached the door. It was a nice home, which surprised Percy: white picket fence, bright pale blue paint, neat garden and sparkling windows.

Percy waited for the man to open his door, tapping his foot on the ground in an arrhythmic pattern and avoiding eye contact with Gabe, rushing in once open. The inside was also fairly decent as well. The paint on the walls were precise matching the colour of the radiator. Expensive sculptures sat on the tables, shelves and cabinets and even the air smelled fresh. _No pictures,_ Percy noted as he looked around sauntering around.

"Hey! Don't touch anything," Gabe yelled, throwing his keys on the table causing a loud clang to echo through the house. "Just because you're some fancy police officer, doesn't give you a right to go snoopy through my stuff."

Percy raised his arms in surrender and turned back. It was too clean, too plastic, too perfect. Something was up.

Clearing his throat Percy began, "Did you happen to catch the name of this pizza boy?"

Gabe gave an outraged expression. He puckered his face like he had swallowed a particularly sour lemon whole. "Catch his name, no I didn't bloody well catch his name. I couldn't give a damn about the kid he was just delivering my pizza not asking me twenty questions. What kind of officer are you? How the hell did you get this job asking questions like that?"

Percy clenched his jaw. Tyson was right; their personalities did not mix, but Percy couldn't lose his temper this time. He had to prove he was capable to Tyson, to Grover, to even bloody Luke.

Schooling his anger Percy countered, "Well, do you have the number of the pizza place, perhaps a flyer? Did you maybe call them or visit them before you decide to storm into the station?" _Or were you too busy throwing a tantrum to think of that?_ Percy added silently

He had obviously hit a nerve as Gabe choked on air.

"I'll get you the flyer, it's upstairs somewhere," he mumbled marching off.

Listening to the retreating footsteps Percy figured he had about five minutes at the most before he got back. Enough time to figure out what was going on. Percy wouldn't necessarily call it snooping more… investigating.

He tugged at the drawers, which flew open, showcasing how void they were of any possessions. Percy felt behind the cabinets for any clues but soon came up empty. The same answer awaited him as he crouched on his knees under the tables.

Percy grimaced in annoyance trying to listen to the footsteps once more. Gabe must have been near the back of the house as the dull thud of his shoes were drowned out by the quiet.

Percy ran his fingers across the table glaring at his fingertips. _He doesn't dust at least_ , Percy scoffed as he viewed the shelf in front of him. He looked puzzled by the lack of dust as he reached for the glass sculpture on the shelf and tossed it in his hands. **Click**.

The muffled sound caused Percy to almost drop the glass on the ground and shatter. Turning his head, Percy feathered his fingertips along the vacant area where the sculpture once stood. His fingers ran over a smooth rectangular piece of metal. A magnet. Flipping the sculpture upside down Percy found the same piece of grey metal on the bottom of the glass.

A hidden compartment.

Percy nudged the bottom of the shelf up and watch as it flew open, spewing its contents on the floor.

Rushing forward Percy shuffled through the items. Letters addressed to different names in angry scrawl- Mr Stuart Davidson, Mr Michael Owens, Mr James T. Harrington- all followed a simple pattern of saying that they would pay the addressed to "call it off". Various forms of id's also scattered the floor. Each with different names, ages, origins but the same photo every time. Series of different cast were squashed between the pieces with fake doctors notes attached to each one.

Hearing the familiar sound of footsteps, Percy collected the papers and shoved them in the table next to him . He then clicked the shelf shut with the glass sculpture in place.

"Couldn't find the fucking thing, must have lost it or something," Gabe muttered. "You know what I'll just talk to my insurance company first see what they say then I'll come back to the station if I have to."

"You'll give us a call, won't you?"

"I'm probably just going to forget about this whole thing once I get my car."

"I don't think you will," Percy contradicted stepping closer to Gabe, who gulped. "I don't think that you are going to drop this at all."

Gabe stepped back, grabbing his keys and opening the door. "I think you've overstayed your welcome officer."

"Probably," Percy chuckled, "but I don't really care that much for pleasantries with con artists."

Gabe's complexion paled further in the bright light shining through the windows. His eyes closed and jaw tightened as he squared his shoulders. He looked ready for a fight.

"Get out. Now."

Percy strode ahead smirking, one hand reaching into his pocket the other towards the drawer. "Are you sure? 'Cause I'm pretty sure that the station would be very interested to see what I found."

Before Percy could even tug at the handle Gabe had lunged forward. Gabe outstretched his hands in an attempt to push Percy into the wall but was halted when Percy slammed his elbow into his stomach, winding him. Taking the opportunity Percy gripped Gabe's wrists in a tight hold. He shoved him against the wall, cracking the paint. Pushing him down Percy dove into his pocket, retracted the handcuffs and cuffed him to the radiator with a click.

Gabe struggled against the restraints, "What the hell! Get this off me you bastard! I swear I'll-"

"You'll what? Call the police? Because have I got news for you," Percy patronised, "the police don't typically help criminals."

Crouching down Percy continued, "So what's your deal? You move from town to town changing your name and finding some way to stir up trouble for someone. The you say you're going to sue for getting injured but then settle for a bribe? Come on tell me if I'm close.

"How'd you do it?"

Percy scratched the back of his neck. "Oh look at you making me blush, it wasn't that hard. You came in acting like a drunk, yelling and stumbling. Yet right now you seem as sober as anyone can be definitely not enough time to sober up. You even had the station fooled, but then this house is clean. Too clean. It goes the whole nine yards, even has the white picket fence- nice touch might I add. So you don't want your neighbours to raise any eyebrows but on the inside it's dusty, no photos, nothing personal, just expensive decorations. Point A- you don't stay here often. Point B- you have money.

Now the whole secret compartment was, I have to admit, really cool. It had letters full of people giving you money, with what I assume were your names at the time. They seemed angry, resided, not frustrated enough to go to court but enough to give off a large sum to get you to back off. The casts suggest you pretend to get injured, not from any current injury with the way you were going to throw a punch at the station. This shelf had been opened recently with the lack of dust on it compared to everywhere else, meaning you were planning to con someone soon."

Gabe, or whatever his name was, was silent for a long time.

"Fuck. You."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment," Percy answered, "So this can go one of two ways. One, you tell me where that pizza place is and I leave. Two, you don't tell me and these documents appear on the front desk of the station. With this much evidence I'm guessing you wouldn't be getting out for a long, long time. So what's it going to be buddy?"

"Luigi's. The name of the place is Luigi's."

"Like the green Mario guy?"

"Yes, like the fucking 'green Mario guy' it's four blocks down and on the right. It's on the corner and you can easily miss it if you don't know you're looking for it, don't know how they're still in business."

Percy nodded standing up. "I guess that's why you went after them."

"No it's fucking not, it's because they stole my fucking car, I wasn't lying to you," Gabe rebutted. "At least not this time."

"Hang on, you own an SUV?"

"Yeah, why?"

"What's your licence plate?"

"C7YDF9, again why?"

It was the same number, Percy didn't even need to check his notepad for confirmation. Whoever stole this guy's car was at the field that night and most likely at the crime scene. Percy need to get there now. He spun on his foot and rushed forward not before grabbing the documents from the drawer.

"Hey dumbass! Unlock me and what the hell are you doing with those, put them back!"

Halting in his movements, Percy looked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "I didn't say I'd uncuff you. I don't even have a key, and for these you come to the station one more time or even think about conning someone again just remember who has the evidence to lock you up for years to come."

"How the hell am I to go to the station if I can't get out of these fucking cuffs?"

"I'll send someone for you," Percy replies walking off, "eventually, of course."

"Asshole!"

 _ **A.N- Gabe's a bit of an ass ain't he? In the next chapter Percy goes to investigate the pizza place and possibly meet Jason, Leo and the rest. Next few chapters are more exploring the characters but after that it dives straight into the plot. So, hold on for that!**_


End file.
